Bohdan Ostash

Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine @ Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine

Codon usage bias as a regulatory device: lessons from GC-rich genomes

Many amino acids are encoded by more than one codon (referred to as synonymous), and so different nucleotide sequences may specify the same polypeptide. Synonymous codons are used unevenly within and across genomes, leading to codon usage bias (CUB). CUB creates a layer of auxiliary genetic information which may have significant phenotypic outcome, such as (but not limited to) altered protein folding, timing and rate of protein synthesis. In this talk I will outline different computational biology approaches that my research team applies to GC-rich genomes of Streptomyces in hope to gain new insights into origin and functional meaning of CUB. Advantages and challenges that streptomycete codon biases offer are given in comparison to popular models such as yeasts and E. coli. I will conclude the talk with description of our new research directions inspired by studies of Streptomyces CUB.